Database Info

tasker app

Just thought i'd share this with the community. You can do LOTS of really cool stuff with this app. If you get if from the website rather the market you get a 7 day trial. Look in the wiki for examples and tutorials of what you can do with it.

I'm face down in this app all day, almost every day.
I've gotten it to do some nice things, such as get the area code of the current caller and display it in the notification area or as a toast notification (the grey popup box, like when you get superuser notifications). I'm currently devising a way for it to do this for country codes, but some of these country codes have some oddly specific rules, and I'd rather it not have 290 profiles for 1 function
It replaces my alarm clock in the morning, and it turns the alarm off if I unlock widgetlocker.
When I flip my phone face down, it goes to vibrate mode.
I found a blog/forum post where someone had made a popup list of launcher icons when you plug in headphones, and I like that.
I use it to pin lock apps, but that's far from perfect. It did replace an app I had for that purpose.
I have it send WOL packets to my computers at work; depending on the time of day and the day of the week, it chooses specific computers.
When I'm at my home screen, I shake the phone up/down and it goes through my menus and applies the rendering effects found in CM7, kind of like the Chainfire shortcut.
If I get a missed call, meaning I didn't answer it or hang it up, it responds to the missed call with a text message. Too bad there's not a way for me to find out if that number is cellular or not, and I can get a phonecall from anywhere in the US throughout the day because of work
I had, for a little while, been trying to replicate JuiceDefender's methods by using a series of variables and controls, with profiles to enable and disable almost all interfaces for comms on the phone. The way tasker works when the screen is off, however, caused issues so I went back to reinstalling Juicedefender. I really only wanted to have a cleaner notification bar
I also got some profiles to make it work like the Screebl app, but it has since quit working with the newest tasker updates.
Very well worth the money however. I'd have easily paid 15 dollars for this application

Android Wear : A Retrospective

Okay so its been a while since the release of the first Android Wear devices, whats Changed ? Is it Worth It ? Was star trek onto something ?
Android Wear is still in its infancy, and clearly has a LONG way to come.
If your still undecided about getting android wear before the holiday period let me help you make your decision.
I have used both the Moto 360 & Lg's G Watch, so Im ignoring device Specific additions because thats not really anything to do with Android Wear its to do with the supplied hardware so don't expect to hear me talking about screen quality this is SOFTWARE ONLY !
After a summers use of Android Wear i have come to a conclusion that many may find hard to swallow and ill go through my reasons and thoughts lets start with what it does well.
From Now on Android Wear will be : AW
Driving :
It works perfectly in theory for driving, you can "Okay Google" and send a SMS or place a call ( provided it is safe to do so, or via BT in car audio ) Great ! you think but now the problems of reality occur.
If your Travelling to and from work / home e.c.t you may need to send a SMS or place a call to Standard numbers ( Home / Work / Mum / Dad e.c.t ) however asking to call " Joe Blogs *Insert work place name here* " is not always picked up correctly and AW.
The Screen will show a turning loading / thinking icon and do one of two things ( 1 ) Finally work it out but by this time you've given up or have tried again : (2) Sits there thinking and just times out and forces the watch to disconnect from your paired device.
Then you hit the issue of no phone signal and whilst driving you don't have time to check the tiny screen to see if the microphone icon shows that its ready and connected to accept your voice task again your sat there talking to your watch like an idiot.
Now android Wear has no way of telling you without looking that you have signal / Connection / ready to accept a command, so you may aswell have your phone hooked up Via BT audio in your dock and do it all via the stock Google now because its faster and easier to tell if you have reception.
As a Pedestrian :
This is a massive sticking point, you can glance at your watch to see the time ( and there should be a better option for the Date for all watch faces ) and the weather and that's about acceptable in society.
Talking to your watch to send an SMS e.c.t get you some funny looks and personal space, also you don't want the general public to know / hear about whats for dinner and your plans for the working week(end).
This can all be done from your phone and you won't look like you got beamed down by a passing space ship.
However Turn by Turn Navigation on your watch is great ! no longer glued to your phone screen burning up battery time trying to do a 15min walk you have never done before, AW handles this perfectly turn by turn !
Searching :
Google Android Wear , asking your watch to give you the 5 day forecast for your next holiday destination next week is a no go, your presented with a unreadable card crammed with search results and a swipe option to open it on your phone !? this bemuses me the whole point was to show us fast easy information.
This kind of task is better done on your phone and so are many other common searches like show me the nearest cash machine / Mc Donalds / Navagate to " Cinema e.c.t " this totally renders AW useless !
Asking for weather and time in other places or in your current region is fine as it seems to do these automatically as long as location reporting is activated on your handset.
Asking for anything beyond this well you may as well have used your phone or asked a passer by.
Alarms / Notes / Fitness Tracking :
These Functions work as advertised and as you'd expect on your phone and some even work offline ( Alarms / reminders / notes ), provided your hardware supports fitness tracking you can grab data using 3rd party apps or the soon to be released google FIT, however lots of phones already do this via a pedometer and there for this function is rendered useless because you end up with two sets of data that are quite different from each other ( I have logged 15,000 steps on my watch to find around 8,000 on my handset.
Phone Tasks :
Calling ( apart from the niggles described in the Driving section ) well here is a mess, accepting / declining a call is partly pointless accepting a call forces you to grab your phone and answer, so this option should be removed so you can only decline or view whos calling, I can hear my phone ringing from my pocket so i'll take it out to look if I can.
There is no option to answer a call and force it to be taken via speaker phone so if your doing a two handed task with your phone near by and some one calls you still have to stop, otherwise in situations like driving the accept call function is fine provided you can pass the phone to a passanger or are hooked up via BT audio.
Final Thoughts :
It works great In car provided you have signal and can shout at your wrist simple names and messages, and you don't already have a in car phone cradle set up where you have voice activation enabled - All of this will be super seeded by android auto so having AW for this reason alone is totally negated and you may aswell wait for Android Auto or carry on with your BT set up.
As of above the rest of AW is pretty useless because using AW is best in a car or doing two handed things where you can't stop and answer the phone, basic function is great and it looks nice but well though out functions are lacking and the actual deployment scenarios where its is applicable are far and few between for several reason stated.
Personally its a gimmick, and even for the G Watch's cheap price its still not worth it and i can't see it ever being.
Google's own voice actions on phones far surpasses AW's usefulness.
Possibly in developing markets I can see it being worth an investment for under $80 to pair with an android one device.
With my BT car stereo / Nexus 5 / Nexus 7 / PC computer its a nice luxury but thats about it, it doe snot let me achieve day to day tasks any faster than just having my phone around its just an annoyance.

I have a G watch and today it is pretty useless. I preferred my old Sony Smartwatch 2, it had better apps, I was able to check twitter, facebook, Whatsapp, call registry, whole sms emails in my phone. With android wear, by now I cannot.

I find it troubling that it has as much power under the hood as a low end smartphone but can't do nearly as much. If I was extremely busy and had bad memory I would use it more but for now it is just a fancy watch to me. I want to be able to actually open an app like Google music. Scroll through albums/tracks/etc. like I do the Google now cards. Use it as a remote for chromecast instead of pulling out my phone. I dunno. I can think of lots of cool things it COULD do but doesn't or won't ever do. Hopefully it is like chromecast and gets some updates and more features in the future. My Sony smartwatch 2 also had more function than the new aw.
Edit: I have read that the new sw3 will allow you to sync music to it and use it seperately from the phone as a music player. I will probably switch to that device simply for that feature alone. G watch is currently in its cradle collecting dust.
---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 PM ----------
One more thing. This is silly, I'm sure its some kind of disorder, but I don't like to talk much. I prefer text or email when people contact me or I contact someone else. I don't like to use the voice commands in Google now or on wear. I just don't like to talk much at all unless I am in a real conversation with real people in person. That makes it hard for me to utilize this tech in its current state. If they just add more touch functionality I would be grateful.

I find that accepting calls is actually very helpful when walking or riding a bike.
I usually have a headset on, a quick glance at my watch shows me who's calling and I can decide whether it's appropriate to take the call while in traffic, noisier surroundings etc.
Having the option to accept calls with speakerphone would be nice though.
From my experience the main use case for Wear watches is quick access to notifications w/out reaching into one's pocket. As of now it's only a small usability improvement but the platform has more potential.

Thanks for the overview of your experience. I tend to agree with most of your observations. I have had the Sony, Galaxy Gear, Qualcomm Toq, and now the LG. All have their pros/cons. Everyone wants something different/specific out of their smart device. I am enjoying the AW experience but miss several capabilities I had with the other platforms. I want some ability to look at history of email/messages/etc.. that I lose after I swipe a card. Battery life is manageable but needs to improve if they expect the masses to embrace (Toq with low energy Mirsol screen 5 days continuous use).
I question who Google uses to test their software. They need to use others from outside their company to beta test this. Get a wide variety of testers (XDA Developers/College kids/Business professionals) to slap on a beta watch/software and listen to what they say. I know the Google developers have a vision of how they want the software, but quite frankly the Google Now experience is not my favorite.
AW 2.0 is due out soon. I don't expect a radical departure from the current approach. I do hope that the development kit will open up more so 3rd party developers can put in some of the capabilities myself and others like.
I am still a smartwatch geek and genuinely enjoy my AW watch. I think by next year we will have hardware and software that can accommodate the vast variety of different things we all want out of our devices.

I would use the navigation on my AW watch a lot more if when google maps navigation started up on the phone it could have an option to not unlock the screen. My phone is always in my pocket and screen always pointing inward to protect the screen if I walk into a table. If I set AW navigation, the phone screen will wake up and my phone often will register screen swipes through my pocket material next to my leg and do random things.
I feel that kicking off AW navigation, then having to take out the phone and switch off the screen and put back in my pocket makes the AW part a bit redundant.
Likewise with making calls if I am using a Bluetooth speaker or headset with phone in pocket.
I would much prefer Waze had android wear function than google maps anyway.
Also i find of I go to do a Google command on my watch about a third of the time the dumb options list with 'drink a glass of water' comes up and the watch stops listening. Then if I have my hands full I end up having to swipe the screen downwards with my damn nose to resolve the situation. I use mini launcher & would love a way to stop the stock app drawer from coming up at all.
That said I do have a really busy work life and find the reminder feature really useful & I use it for everything.
However, the alarm function which I thought would be useful is rendered pointless by it's insistence to only set any alarm to go off every day at that time, rather than a one off. The few times I have used it I end up at the same time the next day having to go into the menu & deleting the alarm once it has gone off pointlessly the next day as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app

I can't help but agree with all the points the OP makes, my G Watch is currently gathering dust and awaiting the new update but I am not expecting much. Just like ruben46 I found my old Sony SW2 to be a much more useful device despite the superior hardware of the G Watch.

good thread.
i mostly agree with what's been posted, but much like when Quicktime 1.0 came out (160x120 video playing at 3-5 fps) AW has alot of growing up to do.
i'm a little depressed with the lack of activity in the watch & AW forums on here..there's not the kind of volume forums like the N4 and N5 enjoy..but that's to be expected with less than a dozen watches on the market that nobody is rushing out to purchase.
i'm excited about 2.0 and also the refresh (when it happens).
one thing not mentioned on here is the 'tinycam' webcam app. i have a webcam purchased for baby watching and when i get it set up, i think the webcam app could be useful anytime we're downstairs or something to get a notification if the baby is moving. same for using it as a security device.
i should point out i also bought a pebble for my brother but not sure if he really took advantage of it..i sure had fun setting it up for him.
so yeah..AW is very 'meh' so far but i think once the devs start digging in it will start to ramp up with new possibilities.
i'm holding onto the G and we'll see how it goes.

Gear S2 Review Thread

Reviews should start coming in. Please add more to the thread if you come across them.
From Sammobile:
"Samsung finally understands a smartwatch should be round."
http://www.sammobile.com/2015/09/30...lly-understands-a-smartwatch-should-be-round/
Dom Esposito (9to5google.com) Video Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvOoUlaqzcU
PC Magazine:
3.5/5
"The Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch has great software and a thoughtful design going for it, but a paltry app selection and finicky voice recognition hold it back."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2492805,00.asp
Yahoo:
"The First Smartwatch I’d Actually Buy"
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/samsungs-gear-s2-the-first-smartwatch-id-155919658.html
Tech Insider:
"Samsung's latest smartwatch is the only smartwatch worth using"
http://www.techinsider.io/samsung-gear-s2-smartwatch-vs-apple-watch-2015-10
Tech of Tomorrow Video Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkXzKxpjlS4
TeQreation Video Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ZeiSpBCu8
Gizmag Review:
"Awesome potential, incomplete experience"
http://www.gizmag.com/samsung-gear-s2-review/39746/
Tom's Guide Review:
6/10
"Clever Design, Needs More Apps."
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-gear-s2,review-3104.html
Mashable Review:
"Samsung Gear S2 is the best round smartwatch on the market"
http://mashable.com/2015/10/07/samsung-galaxy-gear-s2/#gpN6DNgLn8qt

Question for people?
The Sammobile review stated
"Hangouts only lets you open the app on the connected phone and doesn’t let you send any emoticon or respond via voice actions. "
This has not been my experience personally. At least I think. I don't use Hangouts much, but the one time I did, I thought I had all the response options available to me. Can anyone confirm?
The Google apps have been integrated really well as far as i can see.

Where did sammobile get hangouts?
supersoulfly said:
Reviews should start coming in. Please add more to the thread if you come across them.
The frustrating part of the new watch is where should I download apps? The Galaxy Apps store doesn't seem to have anything for Google Hangouts, and the Gear Apps store doesn't list anything either.
So where are people getting anything for Hangouts?
I don't need a lot from the watch, but the ability to be notified when gmail arrives or a hangout message appears is essential, else I have to go back to the Urbane, and I don't think I want to because the S2's bezel interface is too cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm not using any app for Gmail or Hangouts. Under my notifications settings on the Gear phone app i have Gmail and Hangouts turned on for notifications. Anytime I get an email or message I receive a notification on my watch. I then have options to read and respond, including voice dictation, emojis, predetermined text responses, and a written response via T9 keyboard.

Just got an email back from support. Inside the "Gear" app, under notifications is gmail, hangouts, and a bunch of other applications I can enable/disable. I've pasted the gist below.
Generally, to get the notification of the application on your Gear S2, please follow below steps on your phone which is connected/paired to your Gear S2 device.
a) From the home screen tap on the Applications/Apps tab.
b) Tap on the “Samsung Gear” application from the list.
c) Tap on the “Manage notifications” option from the list.
d) Now, mark the check boxes next to the notifications you want to receive(GMail) on your Gear S2 device.
e) Then tap on “OK” to continue. ​

Dom Esposito Review:

Pretty amazing that only 2 reviews have been made yet. When thinking of the AW launch....god the tech press is a pathetic bunch....
Sendt fra min SM-G920F med Tapatalk

Tech of Tomorrow Youtube Review

TeQreation

Bunch of written reviews coming in today.
Gizmag Review:
http://www.gizmag.com/samsung-gear-s2-review/39746/
Tom's Guide Review:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-gear-s2,review-3104.html
Mashable Review:
http://mashable.com/2015/10/07/samsung-galaxy-gear-s2/#gpN6DNgLn8qt

PC Magazine:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2492805,00.asp
Yahoo:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/samsungs-gear-s2-the-first-smartwatch-id-155919658.html
Tech Insider:
http://www.techinsider.io/samsung-gear-s2-smartwatch-vs-apple-watch-2015-10

I bought mine from Best Buy a few days ago after going to several stores and calling over a dozen of them. If you call in, they will be very unreliable and won't tell you if they actually have the watch (or, to put it another way, they'll tell you "no" even if they do have it). You have to go to the Internet orders desk and they'll help you locate one at another store. And they'll only help you if no one else is in line. In my area, I got the last one.
So here are my impressions having only owned the original Pebble Watch for a few days. Overall, I'm quite disappointed.
- There are no apps in their store. Seriously, there's like 100 total, most of them useless, and most of them you have to pay for. Most of those apps are watchfaces.
- You can barely customize the default watchfaces. Only one of them allows you to have a digital watchface with the time, day, and date. Even then, the fonts and colors are limited, and only apply to the time itself. I want a detailed watch face program that lets me put on that home screen whatever data I want, looking like how I want.
- The screen turns on when you do not intend it to, which is very distracting since you see a flash of light and think there's a notification. You can turn it off, but this makes the watch less useful. If you're in a dark room, or in bed, or driving, the light is VERY distracting too.
- Battery lasts 1.5 to less than 2 days (with very little use). With heavy use, you won't get through a day. It takes 2 hours to fully charge from 0%, which isn't bad. Be careful that you know it's charging before you go to bed or you'll wake up to a dead watch - it's very easy not to line it up correctly.
- The wheel should have been a clickwheel. You still have to touch the screen for anything. Although they tout the rotating as a huge feature, this seems a little half-ass. You still have to constantly touch the screen.
- No speaker. You can't take phone calls. Although I knew this when I bought it, it really is a huge letdown once you start using it. Especially when you're home and running around the house.
- The vibrating is so weak you barely notice it. If you're running or walking, you definitely will not notice it.
- The Bluetooth range isn't very far. I was in the shower, with my phone in the adjacent bedroom, and it always loses its connection.
- The notifications disappear once you receive them. I can't go back and read them.
- The notifications don't clear on your Galaxy phone after you've played with them on your watch. So if you use your watch all day, you'll open your phone to tons of notifications that you have to clear.
- Many notifications could just be displayed on the watch, but they make you go to your phone for them.
- Compared to some of the other watches I saw at Best Buy, the design is pretty boring and definitely not eye-grabbing. The screen is much smaller than you think, but this might be why the battery is better than other watches. You don't mind the small screen after a while.
- Again, there's no apps. You can't really do much with this watch beyond the very basics.
- There's not much to play with or customize.
Overall, it feels more "gimmick" than useful. But maybe that's all smartwatches in general? I wanted to love it, but I really don't like it.

SurferJon said:
I bought mine from Best Buy a few days ago after going to several stores and calling over a dozen of them. If you call in, they will be very unreliable and won't tell you if they actually have the watch (or, to put it another way, they'll tell you "no" even if they do have it). You have to go to the Internet orders desk and they'll help you locate one at another store. And they'll only help you if no one else is in line. In my area, I got the last one.
So here are my impressions having only owned the original Pebble Watch for a few days. Overall, I'm quite disappointed.
- There are no apps in their store. Seriously, there's like 100 total, most of them useless, and most of them you have to pay for. Most of those apps are watchfaces.
- You can barely customize the default watchfaces. Only one of them allows you to have a digital watchface with the time, day, and date. Even then, the fonts and colors are limited, and only apply to the time itself. I want a detailed watch face program that lets me put on that home screen whatever data I want, looking like how I want.
- The screen turns on when you do not intend it to, which is very distracting since you see a flash of light and think there's a notification. You can turn it off, but this makes the watch less useful. If you're in a dark room, or in bed, or driving, the light is VERY distracting too.
- Battery lasts 1.5 to less than 2 days (with very little use). With heavy use, you won't get through a day. It takes 2 hours to fully charge from 0%, which isn't bad. Be careful that you know it's charging before you go to bed or you'll wake up to a dead watch - it's very easy not to line it up correctly.
- The wheel should have been a clickwheel. You still have to touch the screen for anything. Although they tout the rotating as a huge feature, this seems a little half-ass. You still have to constantly touch the screen.
- No speaker. You can't take phone calls. Although I knew this when I bought it, it really is a huge letdown once you start using it. Especially when you're home and running around the house.
- The vibrating is so weak you barely notice it. If you're running or walking, you definitely will not notice it.
- The Bluetooth range isn't very far. I was in the shower, with my phone in the adjacent bedroom, and it always loses its connection.
- The notifications disappear once you receive them. I can't go back and read them.
- The notifications don't clear on your Galaxy phone after you've played with them on your watch. So if you use your watch all day, you'll open your phone to tons of notifications that you have to clear.
- Many notifications could just be displayed on the watch, but they make you go to your phone for them.
- Compared to some of the other watches I saw at Best Buy, the design is pretty boring and definitely not eye-grabbing. The screen is much smaller than you think, but this might be why the battery is better than other watches. You don't mind the small screen after a while.
- Again, there's no apps. You can't really do much with this watch beyond the very basics.
- There's not much to play with or customize.
Overall, it feels more "gimmick" than useful. But maybe that's all smartwatches in general? I wanted to love it, but I really don't like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to start by saying I've only had the moto 360 as a smart watch and can only base the following on that.
Where are you located, the day of launch, all the best buy stores I called had the sport in black, but I'm waiting on the classic.
As a 360 owner, I don't think I stuck with any of the apps I downloaded, just stock was fine as it's an extension of the phone so notifications was the main thing and voice commands, primarily everything I do can be done through Google Now. The update of Hangouts was really nice though since it can be pulled up without having to get a message. but that's android wear, back to this. What apps are you looking for you feel should be available?
I think you'll have to wait for people to release a custom watch face maker like "facer" (android wear) in order to get to that level of customization. From my experience, I've tried a lot of faces that resemble real watches and custom designs, I went back to the analog watch face with a custom picture, keeping it simple was the best for me as I didn't want it to look too busy.
Is there no light sensor? also if you get a notification, wouldn't it vibrate?
the clickwheel idea would be a good improvement for the next one. it would make the selection a bit easier, rather than using your finger, but then it would defeat the purpose of having a touch screen too. which if that were the case could potentially save A LOT of battery life.
the non-3G versions don't have a speaker. I believe the 3G one does (source needed)
I think that is across the board with all watches, I notice mine sometimes but other times if I'm moving around I never notice it as I'm focused on something else, unless it's a call which is repetitive vibrations. Doesn't bother me though as I'll flick my wrist to see if there are any notifications.
the material between the wall and bedroom can significantly weaken the bluetooth range, though I've gotten a good 20-25 ft (under estimating a little) with my 360 from my phone.
notifications disappearing; what do you mean? They pop up once and then disappear without you dismissing them?
Just got my classic today, I'm not having this issue unless I manually remove the notification (swipe up)
I'm hoping the clearing of the notifications is just a glitch, though I recall that on the earlier Gear models as well. Android wear luckily doesn't have this issue.
Notifications are clearing on my end just fine, swipe up.
Compatibility for apps is still being worked on I'm sure. For example pandora on android wear use to work, now it doesn't any more; for songs it would be able to adjust volume, next, thumbs up/down. But now it doesn't work though I heard it's pandora's fault for not caring about it. What notifications are you not seeing on your watch that are on the phone?
I agree as far as the sport model goes, but the classic looks a lot better imo, as it has a wheel with ticks (nubs?) on them. I've seen the classic in person from a samsung rep and it does feel and look really nice. Coming from a gen 1 360, the smaller screen doesn't bother me as the watch is overall a bit smaller and I have smaller wrists so it's a win win.
Compared to your experience which you said you've only owned a pebble for a few days, have you used any smartwatch extensively?

His complaints about the notifications aren't because they randomly disappear. Its in comparison to Pebble. On a Pebble if you go to your notifications screen after they have all been dismissed it will show a log of your past notifications. On the S2 it just says there are no notifications. Its not a bug. He just wants a history of dismissed notifications to show up.

Issue with black crush, adaptive brightness, notifications, Hotmail issue? and other.

Hello everyone!
Hopefully you guys gonna understand that I just got this phone 2 days ago and been a iPhone user since Iphone 4! (Went from Iphone 7 to P2 XL) So I hope I don't get too much hate because hey, after all. I bought the Pixel 2 XL 128 GB
Anyways where to start.. It's been very hard to go from iOS to Android but luckily I studied abit as a software dev. where we learned few things with Androids so I did know some stuff atleast but there is quite good benefits with Pixel 2 XL that made me go :highfive::silly::victory:
The camera, I can just say Holy crap.. I never seen so good camera in my life on a small device like this! No doubt about it, The customization on Android where you can enable bluetooth, locations and all that is a really good one too and the screen is also really beautiful, There is so much stuff that I like with it but also some stuff I still need to learn and that's why I am here, and hopefully I can get the help I want and also hope it's not gonna be very long text aswell.
Problem:
[*]Adaptive brightness
This one goes banana, hopefully im not the only one but I have never seen anything more sensitive brightness as Google's, Changes every page / app you use and feels quite annoying as it goes up and down all the time and it just kills your eyes slowly. I did find an app called Lux Lite that helped me quite abit but with lower brightness takes me to the next point which is...
[*]Black crush
Black crush, For those who maybe doesnt know what it is, basically you can follow it up by watching this youtube clip: youtube[DOT COM]/watch?v=CYMRRn2Fu1s (Yes, im a newbie and joined today )
- Simply showing when you reduce your brightness, the dark color disappears and becomes totally black - The reason I want to use it is just against the night when very strong brightness kills your eyes just at bedtime. I usually check NBA and Twitch Just before I fall asleep, and now maybe it will sound racist but that's just love! Basically basketball players that are dark-colored and make them completely black and you only see their matchwear and it ruins a small part of the match.
I have looked into other videos and found that the issue is not only with Pixel 2 but also coming now to Samsung phones and basically the new Oled where the company gives a bad calibrations. Im not sure what Iphone uses if its AMOLED but look etc. at iPhone X, probably one of the best
detailing in dark areas of all phones that I have tried and sure I could have bought that phone but also i'm surprised this is not anything is talking about in any youtube reviews so I don't know whatsup with this but this is slowly making me go back to my iPhone 7... I hope im not the only one?!?!?!
I did find an app called Screen balance that helps it abit but I mean... 945$ for a Phone that I need an APP that I NEED to buy to make it look good?! Come on?!
But please, don't take this offensive now. It still gives a really good picture at high brightness! no doubt about it.
[*]Notification
Well, This might be a fix that someone that as more experience than me in Android now so basically I will make a construction of what I want and maybe someone can help me out?
Basically on Iphone there is a button on the left where you toggle to turn on or off the sound and what's happends basically is it just kills all sound if the toggle is on and what I did is that I turned off vibrations so basically I get everything notifications just without sound and vibrations AND thats what I want to make on the Pixel 2 XL now, What I have done so far is to hold the volume down button until it changes to Do not disturb and in the settings I turned on everything but now on the Screen "Where you just see the clock" it just sometimes gives me like small icons AND sometimes it gives me like a big notification like iPhone did.. but however, Is there another way I can do this like so its more instead of just the small icons and to check? Because etc when Iam at work I can usually see if something pops out on the screen (Can even be a pop out for 10 sec) but now it can be very hard if it's only a small icon adding. Hopefully you understand ish what I mean!
[*]Email Hotmail issue?
This is a combination of notification and not, basically what I have seen this is not as fast response as Gmail, basically if I get a email from Gmail, the notification usually pops out instantly BUT when it comes to Hotmail, this can take over 15minutes until the email even comes to the Gmail app (Where I connected it with my Hotmail since it had that option). and I sometimes can't risk it when im waiting for a important email to come where I wait too long so I need to check pretty often manually to see if I get one.. Now the issue is I don't know if that is a issue when Don't distrub is on or if its the Gmail application, Does anyone have any solution for me here?
[*]Snapchat
Well what to say here, Im not sure but I do think this isn't a issue coming from the phone itself but Snapchat, The quailty is just awful, Im sure my Nokia 3310 would make a better picture than that on Snapchat :fingers-crossed: but anyways the quailty is horrible and maybe there is a way to make it atleast abit better or something, I know that Snapchat is alot better with iPhone and also this isn't a big issue, like its not end of the world to get this worked nownownow but I do feel like it could be atleast at the same level as Samsung quailty atleast?!
Now I think im done and hopefully I did not overkill and I do hope from bottom of my heart that I could get all the answers of my questions and hopefully it's not hard to read since my English isn't the best one but I did try my best and hopefully I could love my Pixel 2 XL as much as I did on my iPhone! Help me newbie out!

I don't have other issues but my main issue is my pixel 2 non xl is black crushing. It looks like absolute garbage at night like in bed. Some videos I can't watch it gets that bad.

My phone is a Pixel 2 (which this forum is about) rather than a 2XL, so some differences may be related to the different hardware. I've not enough experience with the 2XL to compare.
Adaptive brightess: actually I don't have a problem - it works pretty well, perhaps occasionally I want to raise it a bit in dark conditions (I normally have the slider set between 25-30%, as I find that more comfortable than higher brightness), but otherwise the only time it causes problems is if I use the phone in portrait mode and shade the sensor with my hand.
Black crushing: my phone is a 2 rather than a 2XL, so has a different display panel. I don't have a problem in any of the images I've used for testing until I set the (non-adaptive) brightness below 5%, and even then I'm not in a very dark room at the moment so it may be that I'd see more if I were. But as it's a different panel that's probably not relevant.
The iPhone X is using a Samsung OLED screen. At best it will be the same technology that Samsung use on their current phones, but usually they sell 3rd parties a slightly older revision. So any differences will be in the tuning: Samsung do tend to assume that people want excessive saturation and contrast, so I could imagine them tuning in a way that crushes blacks. The 2XL uses an LG panel: it's fundamentally the same technology (p-OLED and AMOLED are just branding names: both are plastic substrate active matrix OLEDs), but a different company's implementation. People generally reckon Samsung are a bit ahead of LG in that game though.
Notifications: TBH I don't bother with "Do Not Disturb" - I do it old school, with a quick setting tile to toggle between Ring (which is Ring and Vibrate for me), Vibrate and Silent - the latter is neither ring nor vibrate. Not as convenient as the silencer switch on the side (which OnePlus have copied, but then Apple copied it from Palm in the first place), but not much in it (wake phone with fingerprint scanner, swipe down on scanner to reveal quick toggles, then tap it - only takes a couple of seconds in total). I'm not completely clear about the rest of your description of small icons vs big notifications, especially what you mean by "small icons": do you mean little dots on app launcher icons, or a small icon in the notification bar that tells you that there is a notification tile if you pull down the slide? Your "do not disturb" preferences include an option to block visual disturbances, so maybe check how that is set. Some apps handle notifications in different ways. Some apps can use the notification light to inform you that there are notifications waiting, which I find helpful (mind you I turn off the always on display, may be different for you).
Hotmail: I don't use hotmail, but the obvious question is whether you have set it up to use imap push (so you get notified immediately) rather than the phone regularly to see whether there is new mail. It sounds like your email client may be polling every 15 minutes.
Snapchat: I've never used snapchat in my life, so can't help.

Thrillofit said:
Hello everyone!
Hopefully you guys gonna understand that I just got this phone 2 days ago and been a iPhone user since Iphone 4! (Went from Iphone 7 to P2 XL) So I hope I don't get too much hate because hey, after all. I bought the Pixel 2 XL 128 GB
Anyways where to start.. It's been very hard to go from iOS to Android but luckily I studied abit as a software dev. where we learned few things with Androids so I did know some stuff atleast but there is quite good benefits with Pixel 2 XL that made me go :highfive::silly::victory:
The camera, I can just say Holy crap.. I never seen so good camera in my life on a small device like this! No doubt about it, The customization on Android where you can enable bluetooth, locations and all that is a really good one too and the screen is also really beautiful, There is so much stuff that I like with it but also some stuff I still need to learn and that's why I am here, and hopefully I can get the help I want and also hope it's not gonna be very long text aswell.
Problem:
[*]Adaptive brightness
This one goes banana, hopefully im not the only one but I have never seen anything more sensitive brightness as Google's, Changes every page / app you use and feels quite annoying as it goes up and down all the time and it just kills your eyes slowly. I did find an app called Lux Lite that helped me quite abit but with lower brightness takes me to the next point which is...
[*]Black crush
Black crush, For those who maybe doesnt know what it is, basically you can follow it up by watching this youtube clip: youtube[DOT COM]/watch?v=CYMRRn2Fu1s (Yes, im a newbie and joined today )
- Simply showing when you reduce your brightness, the dark color disappears and becomes totally black - The reason I want to use it is just against the night when very strong brightness kills your eyes just at bedtime. I usually check NBA and Twitch Just before I fall asleep, and now maybe it will sound racist but that's just love! Basically basketball players that are dark-colored and make them completely black and you only see their matchwear and it ruins a small part of the match.
I have looked into other videos and found that the issue is not only with Pixel 2 but also coming now to Samsung phones and basically the new Oled where the company gives a bad calibrations. Im not sure what Iphone uses if its AMOLED but look etc. at iPhone X, probably one of the best
detailing in dark areas of all phones that I have tried and sure I could have bought that phone but also i'm surprised this is not anything is talking about in any youtube reviews so I don't know whatsup with this but this is slowly making me go back to my iPhone 7... I hope im not the only one?!?!?!
I did find an app called Screen balance that helps it abit but I mean... 945$ for a Phone that I need an APP that I NEED to buy to make it look good?! Come on?!
But please, don't take this offensive now. It still gives a really good picture at high brightness! no doubt about it.
[*]Notification
Well, This might be a fix that someone that as more experience than me in Android now so basically I will make a construction of what I want and maybe someone can help me out?
Basically on Iphone there is a button on the left where you toggle to turn on or off the sound and what's happends basically is it just kills all sound if the toggle is on and what I did is that I turned off vibrations so basically I get everything notifications just without sound and vibrations AND thats what I want to make on the Pixel 2 XL now, What I have done so far is to hold the volume down button until it changes to Do not disturb and in the settings I turned on everything but now on the Screen "Where you just see the clock" it just sometimes gives me like small icons AND sometimes it gives me like a big notification like iPhone did.. but however, Is there another way I can do this like so its more instead of just the small icons and to check? Because etc when Iam at work I can usually see if something pops out on the screen (Can even be a pop out for 10 sec) but now it can be very hard if it's only a small icon adding. Hopefully you understand ish what I mean!
[*]Email Hotmail issue?
This is a combination of notification and not, basically what I have seen this is not as fast response as Gmail, basically if I get a email from Gmail, the notification usually pops out instantly BUT when it comes to Hotmail, this can take over 15minutes until the email even comes to the Gmail app (Where I connected it with my Hotmail since it had that option). and I sometimes can't risk it when im waiting for a important email to come where I wait too long so I need to check pretty often manually to see if I get one.. Now the issue is I don't know if that is a issue when Don't distrub is on or if its the Gmail application, Does anyone have any solution for me here?
[*]Snapchat
Well what to say here, Im not sure but I do think this isn't a issue coming from the phone itself but Snapchat, The quailty is just awful, Im sure my Nokia 3310 would make a better picture than that on Snapchat :fingers-crossed: but anyways the quailty is horrible and maybe there is a way to make it atleast abit better or something, I know that Snapchat is alot better with iPhone and also this isn't a big issue, like its not end of the world to get this worked nownownow but I do feel like it could be atleast at the same level as Samsung quailty atleast?!
Now I think im done and hopefully I did not overkill and I do hope from bottom of my heart that I could get all the answers of my questions and hopefully it's not hard to read since my English isn't the best one but I did try my best and hopefully I could love my Pixel 2 XL as much as I did on my iPhone! Help me newbie out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be better at posting this on the pixel 2xl thread
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

gvsukids said:
You might be better at posting this on the pixel 2xl thread
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh you are right, My bad, I just created a new there! Thanks for that!
Large Hadron said:
My phone is a Pixel 2 (which this forum is about) rather than a 2XL, so some differences may be related to the different hardware. I've not enough experience with the 2XL to compare.
Adaptive brightess: actually I don't have a problem - it works pretty well, perhaps occasionally I want to raise it a bit in dark conditions (I normally have the slider set between 25-30%, as I find that more comfortable than higher brightness), but otherwise the only time it causes problems is if I use the phone in portrait mode and shade the sensor with my hand.
Black crushing: my phone is a 2 rather than a 2XL, so has a different display panel. I don't have a problem in any of the images I've used for testing until I set the (non-adaptive) brightness below 5%, and even then I'm not in a very dark room at the moment so it may be that I'd see more if I were. But as it's a different panel that's probably not relevant.
The iPhone X is using a Samsung OLED screen. At best it will be the same technology that Samsung use on their current phones, but usually they sell 3rd parties a slightly older revision. So any differences will be in the tuning: Samsung do tend to assume that people want excessive saturation and contrast, so I could imagine them tuning in a way that crushes blacks. The 2XL uses an LG panel: it's fundamentally the same technology (p-OLED and AMOLED are just branding names: both are plastic substrate active matrix OLEDs), but a different company's implementation. People generally reckon Samsung are a bit ahead of LG in that game though.
Notifications: TBH I don't bother with "Do Not Disturb" - I do it old school, with a quick setting tile to toggle between Ring (which is Ring and Vibrate for me), Vibrate and Silent - the latter is neither ring nor vibrate. Not as convenient as the silencer switch on the side (which OnePlus have copied, but then Apple copied it from Palm in the first place), but not much in it (wake phone with fingerprint scanner, swipe down on scanner to reveal quick toggles, then tap it - only takes a couple of seconds in total). I'm not completely clear about the rest of your description of small icons vs big notifications, especially what you mean by "small icons": do you mean little dots on app launcher icons, or a small icon in the notification bar that tells you that there is a notification tile if you pull down the slide? Your "do not disturb" preferences include an option to block visual disturbances, so maybe check how that is set. Some apps handle notifications in different ways. Some apps can use the notification light to inform you that there are notifications waiting, which I find helpful (mind you I turn off the always on display, may be different for you).
Hotmail: I don't use hotmail, but the obvious question is whether you have set it up to use imap push (so you get notified immediately) rather than the phone regularly to see whether there is new mail. It sounds like your email client may be polling every 15 minutes.
Snapchat: I've never used snapchat in my life, so can't help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally my fault that I bringed in Pixel 2 XL into a Pixel 2 thread, that's so stupid of me and I can understand the reason why you couldn't give me the reason I have issues with! but I still appreciate the answers you could bring in here!
About the notifications, if you search on google for ( android 8.1 always on display ) that's what I meant with small icons. But you are right with the notifications, I have found out that every app gives different notifications and some of my apps have really bad notifications, that sometimes they dont even pop out :silly:
About the hotmail it is exactly the issue there, I did set it up in Google gmail and it says it is IMAP but I could only have it on every 15 minutes, Downloaded Hotmails program and its the program that doesn't give me notifications.

Oh, if you meant the Always On Display then actually I don't use it in "always on" mode! I have to tap to wake it, so all I can say for sure is that while many apps leave a notification, if I wake it a second time it just shows the icon. What I don't know is whether in always on mode it would switch to just showing the icon after some time, or when another notification comes in, or whether it would stay there until you interact. There are some that I've never seen show text, but most of those are persistent things I'd not want to show it anyway (e.g. showing that the "WhatsApp web" app on my computer is active is something I'd not want an actual text message for). If you wake the screen with the power button you can usually see more detailed notifications on the lock screen than the always on display.

Large Hadron said:
Oh, if you meant the Always On Display then actually I don't use it in "always on" mode! I have to tap to wake it, so all I can say for sure is that while many apps leave a notification, if I wake it a second time it just shows the icon. What I don't know is whether in always on mode it would switch to just showing the icon after some time, or when another notification comes in, or whether it would stay there until you interact. There are some that I've never seen show text, but most of those are persistent things I'd not want to show it anyway (e.g. showing that the "WhatsApp web" app on my computer is active is something I'd not want an actual text message for). If you wake the screen with the power button you can usually see more detailed notifications on the lock screen than the always on display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah exactly! I turned it off and it is like you said, That some applications doesn't show any text or anything but just an small icon on the always on display and sometimes it does show a preview notification (Like a bigger notification) so thats what curious me like what's the reason of that :fingers-crossed:

I've never been very systematic in observing what gives what sort of notification, not least because if I think there's anything significant I tend to unlock the phone to look. I know that some types of notifications never show anything more than an icon (e.g. as mentioned the notice that the WhatsApp companion app on my laptop has connected). Some, such as calendar and email, I know do. I assume that it's linked to the type of notification, but haven't studied in enough detail.
As a test I just turned my ambient display to always on and sent myself an email. A detailed notification appeared for a few seconds, before disappearing and being replaced by the small app icon. With the display set off but to wake when new messages arrive it shows the full notification for a few seconds, and just the icon when I wake it. With it not set to wake the screen for new notifications then when I woke it with a tap I got the full notification even though it had been delivered about 30 seconds earlier (but only the first time I woke it). Personally if I were designing it I'd give options for the more detailed notifications to persist, rather than just be replaced by an icon after a few seconds, but I don't think Google have done that.

For snapchat u can enable camera HAL in developer options to improve the quality mine did

jaggillararla said:
For snapchat u can enable camera HAL in developer options to improve the quality mine did
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done that and there was no difference for me

Thrillofit said:
I have done that and there was no difference for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try reinstalling it. I've heard Snapchat is building a new app version from scratch so I'm crossing my fingers it will be better
Otherwise idk what else to do to improve the quality

50 Android Tips and Tricks you should be using in 2022

Hello XDA Community.
Here is a thread that will help you make the most of your Android device.
Watch the video or go through the below list of tips and tricks.
You might find it useful.
Tap for AOD and Double-tap to wake.
If you have a premium Android smartphone, you ought to have both of these features. A lot of people are unaware and always use the side key. Save your side key from unwanted presses, simply tap once for AOD and double tap-to wake the screen. These options can be configured and personalized in the settings.
Double tap to lock.
Done with your work and want to keep the phone back in your pocket? Do that simply with double tapping on the screen to lock it. If it’s not working for you, your phone might not support this feature.
Double swipe down for quick-settings.
Sometimes, it can be lengthy to pull down the notification section twice, especially if you have a lot of notifications and want to change the brightness or want to toggle a quick-setting. A faster way to get there is to swipe-down using 2 fingers. It’s a handy magic trick that you can use to get things done faster.
Open camera without unlocking your phone.
A lot of times, we unlock our phone and give it to others for taking a photograph. This can be unsafe and somebody might go through sensitive information on your phone. Next time you’re at an event, just swipe on the lock screen to open the camera. This way, your personal information will stay secure and you’ll be at peace of mind.
Mark messages as read from the lockscreen.
Oftentimes a day, we get a lot of messages. It can be difficult to open all the messages to get them marked as read. A quick trick is that you can mark messages as read from the lockscreen itself. This works for SMS as well as popular messaging apps like WhatsApp.
Press and hold app icons for shortcuts.
If you are using lengthy approaches for tasks, this is bound to pave the way for a lot of shortcuts. You can tap and hold on icons for getting things done faster. Each app (depending on the developer) will show you a bunch of quick tasks that can be very useful. Tap and hold the dialer icon to add a contact, tap and hold chrome’s icon to quickly open an incognito window. Instagram shows quick options such as Camera, New Post, View activity or Chats.
Find your phone using Google Assistant.
This trick will work only if Google accounts are the same on your phone as well as smart speakers. Just say “Hey Google, where’s my phone?” and your phone will start ringing. This can be useful if you’re struggling to find your phone after a party. It might have hid in the sofa, under the bed or another dimension. Find it easily using your Google Assistant.
Check the phone's battery using Google Assistant.
About to fall asleep and don’t have the energy to check your phone, just ask Google. Simply say, “How much battery is there on my phone?” and the mighty Google will respond.
Get directions to places using Google Assistant.
Planning to go somewhere, simply ask your Google Nest device. Try saying, “Send me directions to the airport.”
Multi window
Wanna use multiple apps at once? Android has got you covered. Simply open the combination of apps in split screen view. This can be quite useful if you want to read something while completing a project. Drag and drop can also be done among windows. Also feel free to resize the apps as per your need.
Pop-up view
Doing some calculations and don’t want to switch back and forth between the apps? Use pop-up view instead. Bring up the calculator as a pop-up window on your screen to make quick calculations. The possibilities are endless.
Swype keyboard
Are you still typing the old school way? Time to change things. Swype is a great way to type faster. Turn it on from the keyboard settings if needed, and swype away. Say goodbye to typing one key at a time.
One-handed mode
Screens are getting bigger these days. Gone are the times when everything was usable with one-hand by default. To counter this, there are software enhancements. Turn on one-handed mode from settings to easily use the phone and reach all corners.
Mirror screen
Got an Android TV at home? Use the Google Home app which is downloadable from the play store to mirror your phone’s screen. This can be really useful if you have guests over and you want to showcase your gallery pics. Or just show them a presentation.
Cast content
While screen mirroring is cool, it’s not recommended for watching content. Use casting instead. Common streaming apps like YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ have this feature. Just ensure your TV and phone are on the same network, then use the Cast icon present in the app to play things on TV and control them using the phone. Pretty handy.
Control home devices
Once you have added your Smart devices to Google Home, simply use the Devices option to control them quickly. This can be useful to turn lights on or off, change the volume on TV or Play/Pause smart speakers.
Get rid of app drawer - Home screen apps
Recently switched from an iPhone or want a simpler home screen layout? There’s an option for that. Go to launcher settings and use the Home screen apps option. You will now have a simpler life and won’t have to open the app drawer again and again. Swipe up to perform a spotlight like search. Thanks Android for such good days
Extra-dim
It’s important to take care of our eyes during the night. Bright displays in bed while the lights are off can be stressful. Thanks to Android 12, there’s an Extra dim feature built in. Simply turn it on to make the screen easily readable even in the darkest situations.
Turn off notifications
Too many notifications from unwanted apps annoying you? Simply hold a notification to bring up notification settings, quickly turn off all annoying notifications from here.
Take calls from PC
Your phone app on Windows 10 and 11 offers a ton of features. One of them being the ability to take calls from your PC. This trick really saves from back and forth switching while working on a laptop. Make your life easier, pair your phone to Windows and take calls from the PC.
Messages from PC
Making a transaction on your laptop and don’t want the trouble to look at your phone? Your phone app helps you see all SMS on your PC itself. You can even reply or copy-paste to get content on your laptop.
Control your phone from PC
Here’s a quick trick to get your phone’s screen on your PC. Use the Your Phone app and click on the phone's icon. Grant permission from your phone. Phone display will turn up on the PC and you’ll be able to control it from there. Pretty handy if you want to take screenshots of the app you’re developing.
Notifications/Whatsapp/other apps on PC
Stay focused and forget the hassle of switching between devices. Thanks to Your Phone app, all your phone’s notifications are visible on the PC. You can manage them easily. Someone pinged you on WhatsApp? Don’t pick up your phone, reply to them right from your PC. You can use other apps too and even Pin them on your PC’s taskbar. Amazing trick indeed.
Photos on PC
Your phone app will keep your devices in sync. All your Gallery photos magically appear on your PC. You can even save them to the PC without having to worry about finding USB cables.
Create AR Emoji [SAM]
AR stands for Augmented Reality. You can create an avatar for yourself and do fun things with it.
Take measurements [SAM]
Download Measure tool in AR Zone to take quick measurements of your room. Next time you want to buy a carpet, just use this trick on your phone first before stepping out.
Edge screen [SAM]
This is a great way to access your apps and multi-task. The edge screen is highly customisable and you should definitely check out all the options to make it most productive for you.
Edge screen tools [SAM]
The magical thing about the Edge screen is that it doubles as a toolkit. Find options to view compass, tally counter, ruler and more. Next time you’re on an exploration, definitely bring up these tools.
Assistant Menu (Assistive touch)
Want a helping hand? Turn on Assistant Menu from settings. It is similar to assistive touch that you would find on an iOS device. Helps quickly take screenshots, open notifications and more. Customize and personalize it as you see fit.
Auto-complete in dialer
This is a very old trick of the book. Typically, a person wastes a lot of time in finding a contact and calling them. Quicker way it auto-complete. It works like a T9 dictionary which used to be present in Nokia phones. For eg. in order to dial John, you would have to press 5646. John’s name will automatically come-up. Use similar approach for others.
Powerful photo edits
Post taking photos, the photo editor offers a lot of options. You can make changes to a photo’s background, color and more. It’s quite powerful and definitely worth checking out to make photos stand out.
Scan documents [SAM]
The Samsung Notes app has an option to scan documents. Once you’re done scanning, save them to pdf format and share away.
Export text from image
There are times when we come across images and have to note something down manually. To counter this problem, export text from images easily. The Google Keep app comes to the rescue. Add an image to a note. Tap on that image, go to options and choose Grab image text. Easy life!
Connect mouse
Connect a mouse for precision of a cursor. Get the added advantage of right clicking while browsing for an organized and enhanced experience. Make any changes in settings if needed.
Connect keyboard
Want to complete typing that lengthy article on the go? Just pair a bluetooth keyboard for effortless typing. Finally, work can be done on the go.
Connect gamepad
If you have an Xbox or PlayStation controller lying around, pair it up using bluetooth. Gaming on the go. Sit back in the lawn and enjoy easy gaming. OR put your phone one a stand and play away. Hello GTA.
Identify plants/objects/fishes
The Google lens feature is pretty cool. Easily identify and get information about what’s in front of you. No need to save the image and do a reverse image search.
Cast presentations and docs
Google slides work amazingly in the ecosystem. If you have a Chromecast device on the same network, you’ll be able to present your content wirelessly to the audience. Goodbye HDMI cables.
Record calls [SAM]
The built in call recorder can be turned on from dialer settings. Open the dialer, tap 3 dots, choose Settings. Find the Record calls option and turn on auto record calls.
Record screen
Want to record app instructions for a friend, or complete a project? Record your screen. In the quick settings section, find the screen recorder option. You can choose recording options as needed. Start recording. Once you’re done, the recording will be saved to the Gallery.
Wireless powershare [SAM]
This feature might or might not be available in your device. Easily charge another gadget that supports wireless charging, ranging from iPhones to Smart Watches. Perfect when traveling.
Wired powershare
If you have a type C to C cable, you can charge another device. Plug the ends to different phones to share power. Perfect for saving your friend who’s running out of battery.
Developer options
There are some advanced options which are hidden by default. A lot of you might already know this, but for a lot of new Android users, tap on the build number a couple of times to unlock developer options. Know that these options are advanced and you really shouldn’t be messing with them unless you know what you’re doing.
Use screensaver
Screensaver is a great way to enhance your experience during charging. Choose from built-in screensavers or find a good one on the Play Store. A big shout out to the developer of this screensaver that I found. I will leave a link for it in the video description. It’s free and highly customizable. [link here]
Display contact info on lock screen
This is a useful way to show important info on the lock screen. You can choose to display your name or contact info, or go for your nick name.
Find my device
Find and ring your device using the Android device manager. Perform a google search “Android device manager”. Open the page and see your devices there. Find options to ring or even erase content from your device.
Flash notifications
Getting difficult to find your phone in the dark? Or just want to flaunt off your device? Turn on flash notifications in settings. Whenever you’ll get a call, the flashlight will go crazy.
Pin windows
Annoying kids want to play games on your device? Don’t worry, there’s a way to safely do that without them having access to phone’s settings or personal data. The app can be pinned, making it impossible for anyone to access anything else. Take a sigh of relief when you hand over your phone to anyone, just pin the app first.
Identify tracks
We all love music. Sometimes, you hear great music around you and it can be difficult to identify the song. Thanks to the magic of Shazam, easily identify the tracks being played near you. It’s a great app for music lovers.
Sensors and hardware check - *#0*# [SAM]
This is a secret code which helps you check all the sensors and hardware. Very handy and useful if you’re planning to buy a used phone or want to troubleshoot an issue with your existing phone.
Thanks.